By Thomas J. Ryan

<span style="color: #a3a3a3;">For the second year in a row, Nike was the dominant footwear and apparel brand among Millennials, according to Roth Capital Partners’ 2020 Millennial Survey. Adidas, Vans, Yeti, Ray-Ban, and Columbia Sportswear were some of the other brands ranking high with the demographic.

The eighth annual survey was completed by 2,500 Millennial-aged women and men and examines current trends, spending patterns and favorite brands across six consumer categories including apparel & footwear, home furnishings, health & wellness, beverage, healthy snacks, CBD and Cannabis.

In the apparel & footwear space, Nike’s popularity, and its size, helped it rank high in categories, such as outdoor, that the brand doesn’t directly target.

Asked about their favorite outdoor footwear brand, 36.4 percent of respondents chose Nike well ahead of the next two, Adidas, 7.7 percent and Timberland, 4.6 percent. Rounding out the top-eight were Skechers, 2.6 percent; New Balance, 2.1 percent; Columbia Sportswear, 1.9 percent; and Vans, 1.8 percent.

Asked about their favorite fashion footwear brands, Nike was first among Millennials at 22.3 percent, followed by Adidas, 5.4 percent; Vans, 4.0 percent; Steve Madden, 2.9 percent; Gucci, 2.8 percent; Skechers and Converse, both 2.4 percent.

When Millennial respondents were asked about their favorite outdoor apparel brand, Nike again led by the way with 15.7 percent, followed somewhat closely by The North Face, 12.8 percent; Columbia Sportswear, 7.2 percent; Under Armour, 5.2 percent; Adidas, 4.1 percent; Patagonia, 4.0 percent; Carhartt, 2.8 percent; REI, 2.2 percent; and L.L. Bean, 1.6 percent.

Asked about their favorite activewear brand, the Top 4 responses from Millennials were Nike, 37.4 percent; Under Armor, 12.4 percent; Adidas, 9.8 percent; and Lululemon, 3.2 percent. Old Navy and Fabletics tied at 1.8 percent, Puma and Champion tied at 1.2 percent, and Reebok was cited by 1.0 percent.

Other key findings in apparel & footwear purchasing habits include:

  • Millennials primarily shop for fashion and apparel products in‐store rather than online;
  • When shopping for fashion online, Millennials prefer marketplaces and mass retailer websites; however, 22 percent of Millennials who purchase items online purchase from their favorite online apparel website at least once a month;
  • Millennials significantly favor Amazon over other online apparel websites;
  • Forty-five percent of Millennials have purchased apparel products from brands that they first discovered on Instagram;
  • Millennials find the Kardashians as the top digital influencers when looking for apparel;
  • Forty-seven percent of Millennials purchase secondhand clothes or accessories at least some of the time, and Millennials reported affordability and sustainability as important factors in the decision to purchase secondhand; and
  • Sixteen percent of Millennials have tried apparel or accessory rental services, and the youngest Millennials (ages 19 to 24) are most likely to use these services.

Among other categories, Nike also came in first among Millennials when asked what they’re favorite climbing brand was, although cited by only 6.0 percent. That was followed by Black Diamond, 5.7 percent; Petzl, 3.8 percent; Columbia Sportswear and REI, both 2.0 percent; and Patagonia, 1.6 percent.

Asked what their favorite reusable water bottle or tumbler brand was, Yeti came in first with Millennials at 16.9 percent followed by Hydro Flask, 10.4 percent and Contigo, 6.0 percent. Coming in lower was Nalgene, 3.0 percent; Tervis, 2.4 percent; Camelbak, 2.1 percent; and Ozark Trail, 1.7 percent.

Ray-Ban was found to be Millennials’ favorite sunglass brand, cited by 27.5 percent followed by Oakley, 10.6 percent; Gucci, 4.6 percent; Coach, 1.8 percent; Prada, 1.8 percent; and Nike 1.4 percent.

Asked where they typically buy products online, Amazon was by far the winner, cited by 86.9 percent followed in the Top 5 by Walmart, 49.1 percent; Target, 37.7 percent; eBay, 30.1 percent, and direct from brand or manufacturer, 26.8 percent.

Other general findings in spending habits include:

  • Asked which categories do name brands matter, 35.9 percent cited apparel (adult) and 31.8 percent cited sporting goods. The Top 5 were cars, cited by 46.9 percent; followed by appliances, 47.6 percent; consumer electronics, 46.1 percent; cosmetics, 41.8 percent; and luxury apparel and accessories, 40.3 percent.
  • Asked which categories they would pay a premium for sustainable, eco‐friendly or green products, only 19.6 percent cited apparel. The Top 5 responses were groceries, 41.6 percent; cosmetics, 31.0 percent; cars, 29.2 percent; pet products, 25.8 percent; and home goods & housewares, 25.8 percent.
  • Fifty-three percent of Millennials are willing to pay a premium of 10 percent or more for socially responsible brands. Of those, 12.4 percent would be willing to spend more than 20 percent; and 40.2 percent would be willing to spend between 10 percent and 20 percent. A total of 20.6 percent would only be willing to spend less than 10 percent;
  • The same 53 percent of Millennials are willing to pay a premium of 10 percent, or more, for products “Made in the USA.” Of those, 16.6 percent would be willing to spend more than 20 percent; and 36.6 percent between 10 percent and 20 percent.
  • Fifty-five percent of all Millennials plan to seek alternate products or switch to American‐made goods if tariffs result in higher prices.

<span style="color: #a3a3a3;">The survey also explored wellness activities.

The survey found 80 percent of Millennials exercise at least once a week. Breaking it down further, 38.4 percent exercise two-to-four days a week, 25 percent once a week, and 16.2 percent, five-to-seven days a week.

Other findings around fitness include:

  • Thirty-six percent of Millennials who exercise belong to a traditional fitness club, while 25 percent plan to join in the next three months, with Planet Fitness being the most popular;
  • Millennials prefer free weights and cardio exercises inside their traditional fitness clubs;
  • Thirteen percent of Millennials who exercise, attend boutique fitness studios, while 18 percent plan to join in the next three months and Millennials ages 35-to-39 are most likely to attend a boutique fitness studio;
  • Sixty percent of Millennials who workout at boutique studios attend two or more classes per week, while instructor, studio-quality and class timing are the primary factors driving attendance;
  • CrossFit, Orangetheory, SoulCycle, and YogaWorks are the most popular boutique fitness studios among Millennials;
  • Eighteen percent of Millennials who exercise own connected fitness equipment and nearly half stream fitness classes or exercises on their device at least twice per week;
  • Thirty-two percent of Millennials who exercise stream fitness classes or exercises through an app or browser; and
  • Forty-six percent of Millennials who exercise, exercise two or more times per week outside of a traditional gym or fitness studio, primarily because they enjoy the outdoors and it is convenient.

Exploring golf, the survey found 14.8 percent of Millennials play golf. Of those with an income over $75,000, only slightly more, 17.5 percent, play golf. Asked how often they play golf versus two years ago, 28.1 percent of Millennials reported playing golf more (11.9 percent much more; 16.2 percent, somewhat more); however, 47.2 percent said they play golf less (22.4 percent, much less; 24.8 percent, somewhat less.)

Asked why the don’t play golf, by far the most cited response was uninteresting, 51.5 percent; followed by not good at it, 25.1 percent; too expensive, 21.0 percent; haven’t tried, but would like to, 18.4 percent; and too time-consuming, 14.7 percent. Too many rules came in at only 5.5 percent.

Exploring climbing, the survey found 74.6 percent of Millennial respondents don’t climb. Of the climbers, 9.4 percent climb outdoors, 9.0 percent climb indoors and 7.0 percent climb both indoors and outdoors.